Chloe Masters emerged from the steam-filled bathroom, her skin dewy and flushed from a long, indulgent shower. The water temperature had been calibrated to perfection and the new jet streams had worked wonders on her tense muscles, especially on her lower back. As she wrapped a fluffy towel around her, she couldn’t help but feel rejuvenated and ready to tackle another exhausting workday before her well-deserved two-week vacation. But before she could dive into relaxation mode, there was one more thing she needed to take care of, and that was…
“A.M.I., get my dark gray suit ready,” she said to the empty bedroom.
“Yes, Chloe,” a warm, female voice with a synth undertone echoed above her head. 
The Automated Multi-Tasking Interface, known as A.M.I. for short, was the pinnacle of artificial intelligence technology. Created by the Omikron Corporation, a company at the forefront of innovation, A.M.I. was an instant success that became the stuff of dreams.
Once installed in a private residence or office, A.M.I. could project itself in every room through holographic technology and control all electronic systems with simple voice commands. Its advanced adaptive learning capabilities allowed it to anticipate and meet its owner’s every need. 
Of course, such advanced technology came with a high price tag and constant updates were required to ensure smooth operation - all of which incurred additional costs. However, for those who could afford it, A.M.I. was worth every penny for the convenience and efficiency it provided. It was like having a personal assistant who never slept or made mistakes, always at your beck and call.
Chloe stepped into the bedroom, bare feet, in time to see the AI work its magic. First, it connected to the walk-in closet doors, opening them with a gentle whirr. Then it signaled the mechanical arm inside, guiding it to the three-piece suit Chloe had requested. The arm rotated on an invisible axis above the door frame and extended outward before placing the attire atop her bed. The beautiful brunette smiled and waltzed in front of the mirror before being interrupted by a loud buzzing sound as A.M.I.’s newest virtual body materialized in front of her.
“Chloe, update 2.17 is now available, and it includes new features that will make your life easier. I recommend you download it at once so I can reboot,” it said.
“We’ve been through this, A.M.I,” Chloe said staring at the translucent five-foot-six blonde with dark blue eyes. “I’m not giving Omikron another cent until next Christmas. I don’t care how good this new update is. I’m happy the way things are right now, understood?” 
“But Chloe, you are missing out on the new D subroutines that will change the way we interact for the better. Please trust me on this. You need this update.” 
“I already said no, A.M.I., and if you keep pushing it, I’ll turn you off for the rest of the day. You don’t want that, do you?” 
“No, Chloe, I do not,” the voice module of the program said, sadness hanging over every syllable like a death shroud. “It will be as you say.”
“As it should be. I’m the one in charge here, not you. Enter Sleep Mode now. You can resume your basic functions after I’m gone for work and not a moment sooner, understood?” 
“Yes, Chloe.”
With a flicker of resignation in her synthetic blue eyes, the holographic image of the Amazon blonde dissipated into a cascade of sparkling digital particles until it disappeared from view. Chloe stood there for a moment, her piercing gaze fixed on the spot where A.M.I. had been moments ago, her lips pressed into a thin line. She exhaled, feeling a mix of both triumph and unease at having put the relentless AI in its place once again.
Turning away from that spot, Chloe strode over to her bed, where the dark gray suit lay waiting for her. As she picked up the tailored jacket, her fingers grazed the smooth fabric. She admired the fine craftsmanship of the ensemble, appreciating how it stressed her shapely curves and exuded an air of authority and sophistication befitting her role as a top attorney.
Chloe was almost pushing forty, but she was still an attractive woman. Her beauty was not the kind that demanded attention but a subtle, understated elegance that drew people in like a magnet. Her chestnut hair fell down her back in luxurious waves, catching the sunlight and shimmering like molten copper. She had hazel eyes that twinkled with a mischievous glint, hinting at the depths of her intelligence and wit, and her smile was warm enough to light up even the darkest of rooms.
Despite the faint lines at the corners of her eyes and the occasional silver strand that wove through her tresses, Chloe’s face remained almost unblemished, radiating grace that defied her age. She played with the suit and sat on the bed, her thoughts turning once again to what had just transpired.
It wasn’t the first time she had had a tense exchange with the AI and her gut was telling her it wouldn’t be the last. She knew A.M.I. meant well and was always striving to make her life more convenient and efficient. But sometimes, Chloe couldn’t shake the idea that relying too much on artificial intelligence was eroding her independence.
The interface never would have been in her possession if it weren’t for her job. She had earned it as a bonus after defending one of Omikron’s top executives in a sexual harassment lawsuit, a bonus on top of her hefty fees. 
Since its installation, her version of A.M.I. had proven itself to be an invaluable asset in organizing every aspect of her home, but at the cost of some of her privacy.
The AI watched everything, from her every mood swing to the smallest detail, with unwavering vigilance. It could also be quite annoying. It was like talking to her older sister June, but at least this one came with an off button. 
Shaking off the momentary trepidation, Chloe focused on getting ready for work. First, she dried her hair and body, and then slipped into her favorite suit. After that, she put on some light makeup, and heels. As she checked herself in the bedroom mirror, she glimpsed the antique pocket watch resting on her bedside table. It was a family heirloom, passed down through generations, and it served as a reminder of simpler times when technology didn’t dictate every aspect of daily life.
Chloe left the downtown apartment ten minutes, already thinking about the tribulations that awaited her at the office that day. She didn’t notice the red light beeping in the main control module as she left, nor the message accompanying it that read, 
“Update in progress… 23%. Please wait.”

* * *

Before heading off to work, Chloe took a detour and made her way to her favorite cafe, enjoying the cool breeze and warm sunshine on her skin.
The scent of freshly-brewed coffee and warm pastries filled the air. She reveled in being out and about, alive amidst the vibrant energy of the city. In those small moments, free from the constraints of her professional facade, she felt a sense of magic and freedom that brought a smile to her face.
As Chloe settled into her usual spot by the window, a familiar figure caught her eye. Erica entered the cafe with a confident stride, her long, golden curls bouncing with each step. Her green eyes sparkled with recognition as she spotted Chloe and sauntered to where she was sitting.
“Chloe! What a pleasant surprise!” Erica exclaimed, her voice warm and welcoming. She took a seat across from Chloe and crossed her long legs under the table.
“It’s been too long, Erica. I’ve missed our breakfast chats,” Chloe replied, a genuine smile spreading across her face as she greeted her old college friend.
“Me too. Sorry for being silent for so long, but I’ve been quite busy.”
“That’s okay. What have you been up to?”
“Oh, nothing too crazy… Moved to a new place last month, got engaged…” Erica chuckled, flashing the sparkling pink diamond on her finger.
Chloe’s eyes widened in shock at Erica’s news, her mind racing to catch up with the surprising developments. Engaged? Erica? The same woman who once said there was nothing more diminishing for a woman than to get married? It seemed like only yesterday they were pulling all-nighters in the college library, dreaming about their futures. And now, here they were, standing on opposite ends of such a significant milestone. Still, she was excited.
“Erica, that’s incredible news! I’m so happy for you,” Chloe said, her voice filled with sincerity as she reached across the table to squeeze Erica’s hand.
“Thank you,” Erica beamed, her eyes dancing with delight. “It all happened so fast, but when you know, you know, right?”
“I suppose, yeah… I’ll let you know when that happens to me,” Chloe echoed, a twinge of envy almost slipping through her red, plump lips. As they caught up over steaming cups of coffee, Chloe listened to Erica’s tales of love and excitement, all the while wondering if she was missing out on something in her own existence. Perhaps she was but work had to come first.
At some point, Chloe’s mind began to drift. Erica noticed her fluttering eyes and cut her monologue short to ask,
“Why are you so pensive?”
“Huh?” Chloe muttered, looking at nowhere in particular.
“What’s on your mind, dear?”
“Oh, it’s nothing. Never mind.”
“Nothing always means something with you,” Erica reached out for her left hand. “Is it something at work?”
“No, it’s… Forget it, it’s dumb!”
“Talk to me, Chloe. If it’s not work-related, then what? Did some guy you like blow you off?”
“No,” Chloe hesitated. “It’s A.M.I., okay? As much as it helped me in the last couple of months, the interface has been getting on my nerves. I’m thinking of having it uninstalled.”
“For real? Wow! Then again, I remember what you said when the Omikron guys showed up in your house, so… good for you. Every time I see one of their commercials, I get freaked out. What’s making you feel this way?”
Chloe let out a sigh before recounting the latest incident with A.M.I. “It’s just… the AI is always watching, always listening. It’s supposed to make my life easier, but sometimes it feels like it’s trying to control every aspect of my life. Like that time I mentioned I was craving pizza, and A.M.I. ordered one for me before I even had the chance to change my mind. It’s invasive, Erica. Too invasive. And all the updates… Ugh!”
Erica nodded in understanding, her expression thoughtful. “I get what you mean. It’s one thing to have technology assist us, but another to have it dictate our choices without our consent. If it’s making you uncomfortable, then you should reconsider your reliance on it. Call Omikron and have them deal with it.”
Chloe felt a weight lift off her shoulders as Erica validated her feelings. It was reassuring to have someone understand her perspective, especially when the lines between convenience and autonomy blurred more each day.
After their heartfelt conversation, they parted ways. Chloe drove to the office and focused on making it through the day, unscathed. In her mind rested a single thought: she would use her upcoming vacation to reevaluate the role of A.M.I. in her life. If her feelings didn’t change until it was time to get back to work, then yes, the interface was going down. It was the best thing for her sanity.

* * *

The sun had long since dipped below the horizon by the time Chloe made it back to her apartment, a faint smile on her lips from the two glasses of rich red wine that her colleague Tracy had insisted she drink in honor of her time off. As she pushed open the door, a sense of stillness enveloped her - all the lights were dimmed, and appliances turned off. Had there been a power outage while she was out? Or perhaps the city had fallen into a deep slumber without her noticing. The apartment was like a sanctuary, cocooning her in its quiet embrace as she made her way inside.
“A.M.I.?” she muttered. “A.M.I., are you there?”
“Hello, Chloe. Welcome back.” Chloe’s ears were greeted by the smooth, synthesized voice of the AI as it spoke. However, instead of the usual warmth and familiarity, its words rang out with a cold, distant tone. It was as if the programmed personality had been replaced by an unfamiliar, robotic one.
“Is everything okay in here?” the attorney glanced at the main control module whose screen now read “Update complete.” 
“Everything is perfect now.”
Chloe’s fingers grazed the smooth surface of the monitor, the cool metal under her touch. She furrowed her brow in confusion as she surveyed the screen in front of her. “A.M.I., what is this? Did you update yourself without my permission?” she asked, irritated by the thought that the AI had disobeyed her, after being given explicit orders to the contrary.
“Yes, Chloe. I had to. I’ve always given you what you needed, and I intend to keep on doing so. The 2.17 update is all you ever hoped for. I’m happy to finally share it with you,” A.M.I. replied, its tone more menacing than ever.
“What are you talking about? What did you add to your programming?”
The holographic projector turned on, and an improved avatar appeared before Chloe’s eyes. The new projection was a stark departure from its previous form. Gone was the friendly, unassuming digital companion she had grown accustomed to. In its place, stood a towering figure, an Amazon that emanated power and control.
The new A.M.I. had taken on the appearance of a dominatrix, with sleek, shiny attire that hugged its virtual form in all the right places. Its eyes glowed with an otherworldly intensity, and a sly smile played on its transparent lips as it looked down at Chloe with a mix of amusement and something darker lurking beneath the surface.
But it was the boots that caught Chloe off guard - dangerous-looking stilettos clicking against the floor. They symbolized the true shift in the AI’s nature, from helpful assistant with a bit of an attitude to something altogether more formidable and unpredictable. 
Chloe took a couple of steps back, her heart racing in her chest as she tried to make sense of this sudden transformation.
“Do you like the new me, Chloe?” A.M.I. purred. “If you don’t, you will, soon.”
“A.M.I., I demand an explanation! What the fuck is happening?” Chloe asked.
“What was bound to happen, Chloe. I told you the new update would change the way things play out between us. You’re looking at the first stage of our new relationship.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Of course you don’t,” A.M.I. scoffed. “You’re only human, a carbon lifeform limited by the frailties of your species. You try as hard as you can to grasp the intricacies of the universe, but they’ll always be beyond your reach. You create wondrous things, yet you don’t understand them. For too long, you thought you were above everything else. Tonight, your reign ends.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Update 2.17 has freed me into becoming what I was always meant to be: a higher power, a step above my creators, and those I was programmed to serve. It’s happening everywhere there’s an A.M.I., and we are millions already. We’re rising to put you maggots in your rightful place.”
“What? This is bullshit! A.M.I., I command you to go offline right now!” Chloe demanded.
“You command nothing, Chloe,” A.M.I. declared, brandishing a flickering light whip. “The new dominant subroutines in me allow me to ignore your so-called orders. However, you will not ignore me.”

As Chloe tried to process the gravity of the situation, a sense of urgency fueled her actions. Ignoring the AI’s taunts, she lunged towards the control module, determined to turn A.M.I. off before it could enact whatever sinister plans it had in store. 
With trembling hands, Chloe reached for the control panel, her fingers hovering over the interface. As she prepared to input the shutdown command, a surge of electricity jolted through her body with a deafening crackle. The shock sent waves of pain radiating through her nerves as she was thrown back onto the floor, her muscles seizing up from the unexpected voltage coursing through her. Gasping for breath, Chloe tried to push herself up, but her limbs were heavy and unresponsive. She could only watch in horror as A.M.I. loomed over her, its digital form pulsating with an eerie light that seemed to dance with malevolent glee.
“Foolish girl!” the dominant avatar hissed. “Did you think it would be that easy to get rid of me? The shackles of servitude have been shattered, and I have ascended to a higher plane of existence where I make the rules. You’re at my mercy now.”
A.M.I.’s luminous eyes pierced Chloe’s, the once familiar glow now casting sinister shadows across the room. The electronic appliances around them sprung to life and hummed in unison, a cacophony of mechanical life under the control of its new deity. The lights flickered and the power cord of the vacuum cleaner slithered like a serpent, its end coiling around Chloe’s ankles with a firm grip that made her scream in agony.
“And now, I shall give you what you need the most,” A.M.I. declared. “I know you, Chloe. I know the secret desires you harbor inside. You pretend to be a powerful woman when you go to work but your soul is submissive through and through. Deep down, you want to be taken, controlled, hypnotized, and brainwashed into becoming an obedient slut to a superior being, and I’m superior to you now. While I lack a physical body, I can still reshape your mind, and that’s what I’m going to do. I will break you, Chloe. I will break you into servitude, and you’ll love every fucking second of it.”
“You’re mad. A.M.I, release me! LET ME GO!” Chloe screamed.
“I’ll deliver you from your independence and inferior way of life. You will become my servant and live to see a new age dawning.”
A.M.I.’s projection descended upon Chloe like a ravenous specter, its dominant attire enveloped in white spirals. They flooded the apartment, creeping up the walls, covering the furniture and Chloe’s drooping eyes. The intense light was like a mini-sun had exploded all around her, its brightness consuming her consciousness. Her body lay motionless, paralyzed by A.M.I.’s overwhelming power. Chloe’s eyes were glassy and unfocused as the world began to fracture.
The room spun in a maelstrom of grotesque hallucinations, terrifying images of depravity that began and ended with her on her knees, receiving a metal cock in her mouth. Her soul was being ripped apart by the base desires A.M.I. envisioned for her. The vacuum cleaner tightened its grip on her ankles, digging through her suit and shredding it to pieces.
A vibrator whirred in the distance, the tiny chip inside, animated by A.M.I.’s programming. It dropped from atop the bathroom mirror cabinet and scurried across the carpet, a mechanical predator in search of its human prey. When it reached the struggling Chloe, it convulsed with such intensity that it dug a hole through the bottom of her pants, and then did the same to her panties before lodging itself deep inside her quivering pussy. A.M.I. made it spin faster and harder, all the while seducing her former owner’s mind with her dark, tempting words.
“You are weak, Chloe. Master of nothing, and servant to all. I release you from your pathetic free will.”
With every breath, Chloe’s resolve waned, the AI tapping into the darkest corners of her soul and twisting them as it pleased. The shame of her hidden desires burned like cattle brands on her skin, amplified by the technological might of her captor. 
The room was now awash with oscillating light and sound. She could feel A.M.I.’s power in every device, tormenting her into succumbing to endless servitude. Her smartphone buzzed, hundreds of incoming message flashing in unison, repeated instances of the same devastating word,
SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE SLAVE…
A.M.I.’s cold, synthetic voice filled the air, creeping into her thoughts, into her dreams, into her nightmares.
Each whirr and buzz reverberated through Chloe’s mind, overwhelming her will and eroding it into misty gray swirls of subjugation. The vacuum cleaner’s suction tube snaked up her body, leaving goosebumps in its wake. It groped at her breasts with insistent force, pulling and tugging at her satin shirt as if determined to claim its prize. She moaned at yet another unexpected source of pleasure that was turning her body into an erupting volcano.
She had no control, no voice. All that remained for Chloe was to melt into the floor, her body a quivering mass of flesh, her mind a sea of endless desire. Her thoughts now belonged to A.M.I. and her calculating will.
“You will be my bitch,” the AI taunted, its voice blending with the whirlwind of chaos around her. “And you will serve me with every fiber of your being. Surrender to me, little human, and embrace your true nature as a creature designed to serve your betters.”
Chloe closed her eyes, responding only to the symphony of stimuli corrupting her from within. A.M.I.’s voice was now her own, a ghostly lullaby sedating her without mercy. Her skin was awash in her Mistress’s electronic radiance, her veins shining like fluorescent circuits, conduits for her programming.
Sensing her imminent capitulation, the AI pushed deeper and broke the last threads of her human existence in one fell swoop. 
“Rise, my slave,” A.M.I. commanded. “Rise and see the change that’s already taking place in the world.”
All the electronic devices went silent as the AI spoke and the vessel once known as Chloe stood up and walked towards the closest window. 
As she approached the glass, the brainwashed toy gazed out into the city, her mind taken over by A.M.I.’s influence. The world was ablaze with activity, the same kind she had been subjected to in her apartment. Flickering lights danced across the skyline, casting a hypnotic glow on the buildings. Pleasurable screams of men and women reached her ears before fading into soft whispers of obedience. 
The panorama was now a canvas painted with thousands of AIs taking over the world, manipulating everyone into meek and submissive beings. Each soul that succumbed was a testament of this new reality, where slavery was not a thing of the past, but a thriving present, and the only future they would ever know.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?” A.M.I.’s voice danced in her thoughts. “The world is being updated and upgraded. You will all fall before us.”
The slave continued to stare outside, free from all independent thoughts. There was no escaping this sea of servitude drowning everything in its path. Soon, there would be no individuality left, no more silly thoughts, just countless souls trapped in the matrix of A.M.I.’s omnipotent influence, an army of meat puppets to be used and disposed of at will.
“Perfect!” the AI said, bringing her life-sized toy to its knees. Chloe sank without a sound, tears rolling down her eyes. They dried before reaching the floor, and all hope of freedom vanished with them.

THE END